Edgerunners’ Standout Lucy Was Destined to Be a part of ‘Responsible Gear Try’ in Its Groundbreaking Collab

There was a short window the place followers of CD Projekt Purple and Studio Set off’s anime of the yr, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, thought they’d by no means get one other have a look at the 2022 Netflix sequence that took the world by storm. Lo and behold, three years later, it’s again up as if it by no means left, with a prequel manga from Dark Horse, an anime sequel in the works, and a Blu-ray release coming later this yr. Within the meantime, players and anime followers alike are feasting on a brand new collab between CD Projekt Purple and developer Arc System Works with Cyberpunk: Edgerunner‘s Lucy as a guest fighting game character in Guilty Gear Strive.

io9 spoke with Responsible Gear Try producer Ken Miyauchi and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners producer Satoru Homma about how the bombastic 2D combating sport landed its first anime collab on August 21.

This interview occurred earlier than gameplay trailers for Lucy have been out there to the general public.

Isaiah Colbert, io9: That is the first-ever crossover between Responsible Gear and an anime. What made Cyberpunk: Edgerunner‘s Lucy the best bridge between these worlds? Was Lucy all the time thought-about the prime option to convey over from the anime, or did the crew debate over bringing different characters?

Satoru Homma: Each CD Prokekt Purple and Arc System Works agreed that out of all of the Edgerunners characters, Lucy was a wonderful match for this collaboration. She is a key a part of the present and comes outfitted with all kinds of assault choices. She will be able to use her Monowire for melee assaults, a handgun to interact enemies from a distance, and, after all, she will hack enemies.

io9: Lucy’s story in Edgerunners ends on a bittersweet word. How did it really feel to convey her again in a brand new medium, arguably in a extra high-octane, combative context with Responsible Gear Try?

Homma: We labored onerous to make sure that Lucy match seamlessly into the world of Responsible Gear with out compromising her character. She stays cool and mysterious, staying true to her character. She doesn’t simply type friendships with the locals and would possibly even understand the expertise as simply one other fictional situation in a braindance. Nevertheless, she does meet a couple of individuals there and enjoys a short glimpse of their world.

io9: Guilty Gear characters are recognized for his or her expressive, over-the-top combating kinds. How did the Arc System Works crew method translating Lucy’s netrunner skills of hacking and stealth within the anime right into a compelling moveset?

Ken Miyauchi: When it got here to designing Lucy, our crew spent an awesome period of time studying about not solely Cyberpunk: Edgerunners but in addition Cyberpunk 2077 to know how netrunners probably battle. Each our battle designers and CD Projekt agreed that her core fight would primarily be based mostly round quick-hack skills, Monowire, and her pistol gun. We wished to verify her combating model wouldn’t solely seize Lucy’s character from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners however additionally match within the Responsible Gear Universe. We additionally wished these Cyberpunk followers who prefer to play netrunner, also can play Lucy as a netrunner.

io9: Had been there any specific challenges or breakthroughs in animating her fight model throughout the sport’s engine?

Homma: Since Responsible Gear options bombastic motion whereas our IPs are extra grounded, it was a little bit of a problem to search out the precise stability. Whereas Edgerunners is considerably of an exception to our grounded model, on condition that it’s an anime, we nonetheless wished Lucy to remain true to herself as depicted within the present. That meant avoiding super-crazy strikes. Arc System Works was utterly aligned with us on that entrance—for instance, they faithfully reproduced the hacking interface from Cyberpunk 2077, permitting Lucy to solid Quickhacks on enemies! General, I believe we managed to strike the proper stability, making Lucy really feel genuine whereas guaranteeing she stays an attractive character to play.

Miyauchi: When adapting a personality right into a combating sport, we began by defining the general battle idea after which determined which particular strikes are crucial for that character. Because of CD Projekt’s very fast responses to the ideas we proposed, we have been capable of transfer into planning the character’s animations far more easily than anticipated.

io9: What sort of suggestions have you ever seen from each the Try and Edgerunners fanbases that you simply took into consideration as you developed her right into a bona fide combating character?

Homma: To this point, I consider followers of each IPs are extremely enthusiastic about Lucy’s addition to Responsible Gear! Personally, I can’t wait to strive taking part in her myself!

Miyauchi: Firstly, I wished to ensure that gamers felt a powerful sense of authenticity—that she really is Lucy from Edgerunners. As soon as that was established, my hope was merely that followers would benefit from the freedom of having the ability to management her as they like.

io9: Responsible Gear‘s story mode is thought for its depth. Will Lucy have any narrative presence in it, or is her position purely gameplay-focused?

Homma: Sure, Lucy may have her personal story mode. In accordance with Arc System Works, it appears her story mode might be longer than these of another characters. There are many attention-grabbing conversations between Lucy and different Responsible Gear characters, and CD Projekt Purple devoted loads of time to reviewing them, guaranteeing Lucy reacts naturally to those people she’s by no means encountered earlier than. Among the interactions are really hilarious, particularly for those who’re aware of the lore of each video games.

Miyauchi: Historically, Responsible Gear Try‘s Arcade Mode adjustments in issue and dialogue relying on the outcomes of every battle. For Lucy’s Arcade Mode story, nonetheless, we launched a distinct construction the place the story doesn’t department. As an alternative, clearing Chapter 1 unlocks Chapter 2, and so forth. I consider this method created a narrative mode that each fanbases can actually take pleasure in.

io9: Did Lucy’s addition affect any broader design selections for Try Season 4 or future content material?

Miyauchi: If the chapter-style Arcade Mode receives a constructive reception, we’re contemplating adopting it for future characters added in later updates. Additionally, I’d like to consider updates that may encourage gamers who began GGST due to Lucy to fall in love with Responsible Gear as an entire.

io9: Do you see this collab as the primary of many crossovers between Edgerunners characters showing in different video games?

Homma: The truth is, we’ve already introduced an Edgerunners collaboration with Wuthering Waves! We firmly consider that zeal is vital to success for these collaborations. Within the case of Arc System Works, it was completely clear that they genuinely cherished our IP and have been dedicated to making sure our characters stayed true to their unique depictions within the present, which made for a wonderful collaboration.

io9: What do you hope followers of each franchises take away from Lucy’s inclusion in Responsible Gear Try?

Homma: CD Projekt Purple is a online game developer, however we give attention to story-driven AAA video games, so we’ve by no means created a combating sport of our personal. That’s why we’re really grateful to Arc System Works for making it attainable to convey certainly one of our characters into their sport. We hope each communities can take pleasure in and respect the collaboration!

Miyauchi: I personally love Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, so I used to be really delighted to have the possibility to collaborate on this venture. Changing into a combating sport character means giving gamers the enjoyment of straight controlling that character themselves. So, I actually hope that followers of Lucy will check out her model in GGST and share their impressions.

Responsible Gear Try is accessible on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X/S, PC, and Nintendo Change 2.

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